One of the first
objectives for the remaining crew members Aleksandr
Skvortsov, Oleg
Artemyev and Steven
Swanson was to undock Dragon SpX-3 from the
Harmony
module on May 18, 2014. The freighter was linked with the station since April
20, 2014. With 1.5 tons old equipment and experiment results the the capsule
splashed down near Mexico in the Pacific and was recovered.

With the
arrival of Soyuz TMA-13M on May 29, 2014 the Expedition 40 became a
six-person-crew.
Soyuz
TMA-13M carried Maksim
Surayev, Reid
Wiseman and Alexander
Gerst to the space station. As part of the European mission
Blue Dot Alexander
Gerst carried an experiment package with 35 experiments of
different scientific fields.

On June 09, 2014 at 13:29
UTC the unmanned Russian freighter Progress M-21M undocked from the International
Space Station. It was filled with trash and other no longer needed items. The
transporter was deorbited the same day at 17:23
UTC over the South Pacific.

The first
EVA in this expedition was performed by Aleksandr
Skvortsov and Oleg
Artemyev on June 19, 2014 (7h 23m). The primary objectives of
the spacewalk were focused at servicing the exterior of the
Zvezda
service module and the experiments mounted in that location. The two
spacewalking cosmonauts installed an automated phased antenna array (AFAR),
which will serve as part of the Russian command and telemetry system. They also
relocated a part of the Obstanovka experiment - which is used to monitor the
presence of charged particles and plasma in the environment of Low Earth Orbit
(LEO). Other tasks included verifying the correct installation of the universal
work platform (URM-D), taking samples from one of
Zvezda's
windows, and jettisoning an experiment frame.

The Orbital Sciences
Corporation Antares rocket launched from Pad-0A with the Cygnus spacecraft, named "Janice
Voss", onboard July 13, 2014 at 16:52:14
UTC, at
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The
Cygnus spacecraft is filled with over 3,000 pounds of
supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments,
experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The Orbital-2 mission is
Orbital Sciences' second contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station
for
NASA. On July 16, 2014 flying more than 250 miles
above Earth, the Orbital Sciences Corp. supply spaceship deftly controlled its
approach to the space station, firing rocket thrusters as required guide itself
to an imaginary box about 30 feet below the outpost. Space station commander
Steven Swanson took control of the lab's 58-foot-long Canadian-built
robotic arm to reach out and capture the
Cygnus spacecraft at 10:36
UTC. Ground controllers in Houston commanded the robot
arm to maneuver the
Cygnus spacecraft into position on the
Harmony
module's Earth-facing berthing port. A series of 16 bolts were driven into
place to establish a firm mechanical connection between the
Cygnus and the space station.

The unmanned
Russian freighter Progress M-23M undocked from the International
Space Station on July 21, 2014.
Progress M-23M was filled with trash and other no
longer needed items. The spacecraft remained in orbit as part of the
Radar-Progress experiment and was then deorbited on July 31, 2014 at 22:42
UTC over the South Pacific.

The undocking made
the docking node free for the next Russian freighter, Progress M-24M. The vehicle was launched from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 23, 2014 at 21:44:44
UTC. Only six hours in flight
Progress M-24M docked with the
Pirs
module of the station on July 24, 2014 at 03:31:37
UTC. The craft carried 2,322 kg of cargo and supplies
to the International Space Station.

The European Space Agency's fifth
and final Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-5) cargo ship has completed its two week trek
to the International Space Station. Named after the 20th century
Belgian astronomer, the "Georges Lemaitre" docked automatically to the
Zvezda
service module's aft port August 12, 2014 at 13:29:53
UTC. The
ATV-5 launched atop an Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket July
29, 2014 at 23:47:38
UTC from Kourou, French Guiana, carrying nearly seven
tons of science, supplies, food and fuel to replenish the station crew. During
its slow, deliberate approach to the space station, the
ATV-5 flew less than four miles underneath the station
on August 08, 2014 to test new rendezvous sensors and laser systems before
looping above and behind the station for the final phase of its rendezvous. The
advanced technology was tested for possible incorporation in the design of
future European spacecraft. The "Georges Lemaitre" is scheduled to end its stay
at the station and complete its mission in January 2015. The
ATV-5 will undock from
Zvezda
at the beginning of the year loaded with trash and discarded gear for a fiery
disposal over the Pacific Ocean.

On August 15, 2014 at 09:14
UTC the commercial freighter Cygnus Orb-2 was separated from the module
Harmony
by using the
SSRMS. At 10:42
UTC the crew let the craft free in its own orbit.
Filled with trash
Cygnus Orb-2 was deorbited on August 17, 2014 at 13:22
UTC.

The second spacewalk was conducted
by Aleksandr
Skvortsov and Oleg
Artemyev on August 18, 2014 (5h 11m). The cosmonauts deployed
a nanosatellite, installed two experiment packages (EXPOSE-R and Plume
Impingement Deposit Monitoring) and retrieved others (CKK#1, Vinoslivosk and
Biorisk). In addition they installed holder on Automatic Phased Array (AFAR)
antenna, took surface samples from a window on
Zvezda
and photographed Multi-Layer Insulation from the exterior of the Russian
ISS segment.

Earth remote sensing, an
assessment of human behavior and performance and studies of animal biology and
bone and muscle physiology define the research of Expedition 40. Other
investigations include technology demonstrations, physical and space sciences
and educational activities. Expedition 40 activities will help advance our body
of scientific knowledge, leading to potential Earth benefits such as improved
weather forecasts and human medical advancements.

International Space
Station-Rapid Scatterometer (ISS-RapidScat): The
ISS-RapidScat will monitor ocean winds from the ideal
vantage point of the space station. This space-based scatterometer is a remote
sensing instrument that uses radar pulses reflected from the ocean's surface
from different angles to calculate surface wind speed and direction. This
information will be useful for weather forecasting and hurricane monitoring. In
addition to improving weather models, the
ISS-RapidScat instrument enhances measurements from
other international scatterometers by cross-checking their data. Due to its
unique orbit,
ISS-RapidScat will observe different parts of the
planet at different times of day, allowing the instrument to track the effects
of the sun on ocean winds as the day progresses. Because the instrument reuses
leftover hardware originally built to test parts of the now inoperable
NASA QuikScat scatterometer, this investigation
demonstrates a unique way to replace an instrument aboard an aging satellite.

Assessing the Impact of Communication Delay on Behavioral Health and
Performance: An Examination of Autonomous Operations Utilizing the
International Space Station (Comm Delay Assessment): Comm Delay Assessment
evaluates the effects of delayed communications for interplanetary crews that
have to handle medical and other emergencies in deep space. In addition to time
delays experienced as they travel farther away from Earth, uncertainty in
performing a crucial task can impact crew performance and interaction. Three
crew members will perform eight tasks, with and without 50-second delays added.
These tasks will vary in their level of stress and familiarity. This type of
research may help refine procedures for Earth-based teams that operate in
extreme or remote environments with intermittent or no contact with a home base
and its experts.

Rodent Research Hardware and Operations Validation
(Rodent Research-1): Rodent research hardware provides a platform for
long-duration rodent experiments in space. These experiments examine how
microgravity affects animals, providing information relevant to human
spaceflight, discoveries in basic biology and knowledge that will have direct
impact toward human health on Earth. Rodent Research-1 tests the operational
capabilities of the new hardware system, including the transporter, rodent
habitat, and access unit.

In-flight Demonstration of Portable Load
Monitoring Devices- Phase I: XSENS ForceShoe (Force Shoes): The Force Shoes
investigation is an evaluation of the XSENS ForceShoe system as a potential
method to measure exercise loads on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device
(ARED) during crew member exercise sessions on the space station. Up to four
astronauts will collect a series of static and dynamic load measurements using
ARED. Researchers will use the measurements made by the XSENS ForceShoe system
to quantify exercise load data needed for support of current and future human
research experiments. This data also will be applied to populations on Earth
restricted from exercise by injury, age, lifestyle or confined work and living
space.